Festival Report: San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins

April 25th, 2006

I went to the SF Festival of the Mandolins last Sunday. The festival was small, but there was some excellent music to be heard. The Israeli classical mandolinist Avi Avital was jaw-droppingly good. He combined a prodigious technique with a deeply musical touch. Eva Scow, was also something to hear. I interviewed her for the fisrt issue of the FJ, and I heard her track on the Tone Poets CD, but that didn’t prepare me for hearing her play in person. All of the other performers, including Rich DelGrosso, John Resichman and the Aurora Mandolin Orchestra were excellent, as well, but Avi and Eva were something else. I also sat in on a fascinating slide show by Sheri Mignano Crawford devoted to San Francisco’s long history of Italian mandolin playing. She has written a book about the subject called Mandolins Like Salamis, which includes loads of rare photos of old mandolin orchestras and bands. She has also published a collection of Italian mandolin music that includes pieces from the 1890s to the 1960s. (You can purchase both books here.) I had to leave before the fetsival ended, but I found the time I was there to be very enjoyable. Next year I intend to make a complete day of it.–MJS

Entry Filed under: Mandolin, Festivals